October 24, 1882: Charles Thurber

Today we travel to a lynching in the Dakota Territory in 1882. This lynching i brought to us through the pages of the Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye (Burlington, Iowa) dated October 26, 1882:

The Outrages of a Beastly Black Brute.

Chicago, Oct. 24.—A Grand Forks, D. T., special says:  Yesterday Charles Lurbane, a negro barber, met a Norwegian girl on the road and ravished her in the most brutal manner. He rode on about a mile, entered the house of Conductor Sam Burbank, of the Manitoba road, and outraged Mrs. Burbank. A party saw the first deed, and started in pursuit. At Burbank's house they killed his horse, but the black brute escaped, flourishing a knife. Two parties are now in pursuit. The negro undoubtedly will be lynched, if caught.

A BEAST LYNCHED.

Grand Forks, D. T., Oct. 24.—Charles Thurber, the negro who outraged Mrs. Burbank and the Norwegian girl near Norton, Dakota territory, yesterday, was taken from jail to-day by a mob of two thousand strong and lynched.

I originally found this lynching through www.prairiepublic.org. I went in search of it through papers afterwards. If you would like to read the article where I first found this lynching you can find it here.

Thank you for joining me and as always, I hope I leave you with something to ponder. 

October 23, 1898: John Anderson

Join me in a trip to the past brought to us by the Chicago Daily Tribune on October 26, 1898:

MAY HAVE HANGED WRONG MAN.

Now Believed an Alabama Mob Lynched a Negro for a Murder He Did Not Commit.

Lafayette, Ala., Oct. 25.—[Special.]—There is every reason to believe that the mob which lynched the negro, John Anderson, here last Sunday morning, hanged the wrong man.

On the scaffold Anderson confessed to a knowledge of the crime, but insisted that he was not the murderer.

According to his ante-mortem statement T. L. Norris, a neighbor of Holmes, the victim, and another white man, whom the prisoner did not know, had murdered Mr. Holmes and had subsequently given him $20 to carry the body away and conceal it in the swamp.

The mob refused to believe Anderson's story and hanged him without waiting to verify it. As they returned from the scene of the lynching, however, some of Norris' acquaintances stopped at his dwelling to inform him of the negro's story, and they found he had not been seen about the neighborhood since the morning after the murder.

Soon after it developed that Holmes, who was a law-abiding man, had recently reported Norris to the United States authorities for illicit whisky distilling, and was therefore chief witness against him in a case involving his personal liberty.

An industrious search for Norris has since been made with the result that he has been apprehended in a remote portion of an adjoining county. The probability is that he will not be brought into Chambers County, as he also might be lynched.

Government officers are here to ferret out the facts. The government is involved by reason of the murder of a government witness. Who Norris' and Anderson's other accomplice was is not known or surmised.

I have noticed many times that the reports frequently say that the lynchers came from a different area and are not their townspeople. While this may be true in some cases, in others it seems completely ridiculous. This case is no different, so here is a snippet from The Sandusky Star-Journal (Sandusky, Ohio) from October 24, 1898:

Lynched by a Mob.

Lafayette, Ala., Oct. 24.—John Anderson, colored, charged with the murder of Charles Holmes, a well known farmer, was lynched here by a mob of people of Fredonia and West Point, Ga.

Our final stop on our journey is the Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey) printed October 27, 1898:

THE CRIME GOES ON.

The lynching of negroes in the South goes merrily on. In Edgefield County, S. C., a few days ago, two were lynched at the same time, although a coroner's jury had exonerated one of them, and not before turning over every stone and a hunt for evidence against him. The mob must have been greatly incensed at this coroner who could not somehow find evidence against a "niggah, sah," and the wonder is that he was not worked off also as an example to other coroners. These two negroes had each accused the other of killing a white woman. It was not thought that both had had a hand in the murder, but that no guilty "nigger" should escape the discriminating  mob killed both.

In the Times yesterday was printed a telegraphic dispatch from Lafayette, Ala., which conveyed the intelligence that John Anderson, the colored man lynched there Sunday morning, is now known not to be guilty of the crime of which he was suspected. This happens frequently, but it does not seem to have any influence upon public sentiment in the South against the brutal and cowardly crime of lynching.

The indiscriminate murdering of men has been going on so long and has become such a blot upon the national character that some administration at Washington will be obliged to take some more serious notice of it than a perfunctory mention in a message to Congress.

Thank you for joining me and as always, I hope I leave you with something to ponder. 

October 22, 1895: Jim Umbra and Mexican John

Join me is a journey to the past to 1895 Oklahoma Territory through the pages of The Wichita Beacon (Wichita, Kansas) dated October 23, 1895:

MEXICAN JOHN

With a Comrade He Is Captured and Sent to the Beyond.

Cattle and Horse Stealing Are Unpopular In the Territory.

LYNCHED AND PLACARDED.

People Will Please Take Warning that Transgressions Are Dangerous.

John Had Worked as a Barber But Could Not Save His Own Neck.

Kansas City, Oct.23.—A special to the Star from Hennessy, Okla., says:  Jim Umbra and Mexican John, Mexicans, and members of the Wyatt gang of outlaws, were yesterday lynched by enraged cattlemen who suffered greatly at their hands. The desperadoes had stolen 50 head belonging to Ben Chapmen and his cowboys gave chase. Fifteen miles from Cantonment, the desperadoes were closed in upon and after a fusilade [sic] of bullets surrendered. The cowboys identified the cattle and taking a rope pulled the men up to the first tree. A label was attached to their clothing warning other members of the band to quit horse stealing or suffer a like fate. Mexican John was well known in this city where he had worked as a barber. Umbra was a hard character and an intimate friend of Zip Wyatt before the latter's death.

We'll end this journey with a little tidbit from The Guthrie Daily Leader (Guthrie, Oklahoma) dated April 26, 1906:

Games in Mississippi.

The Mississippi legislature has considered a bill to abolish bridge whist, euchre and other card games, and now a lawmaker proposes to legalize lynching. The Mississippi taste for amusements is evidently peculiar.—Pittsburg Dispatch.

 Thank you for joining me and as always, I hope I leave you with something to ponder.

October 21, 1896: John Hollinghead

Today's post comes to us through the Boston Evening Transcript (Boston, Massachusetts) dated October 22, 1896:

SHOT FOR TURNING STATE'S EVIDENCE

[J]ohn Hollinhead, Who Was Instrumental in Sending Several Lynchers to Prison, the Victim of Avengers.

Mobile, Ala., Oct. 22 (Special)—John Hollinghead, the Washington County farmer who participated in the lynching of Christopher Chambliss, several months ago, then turned State's evidence and convicted several of the lynchers, who were sentenced to life imprisonment a few days ago, was yesterday assassinated in the roadway near his home, being shot from ambush by a dozen men. Some thirty other citizens of Washington are under indictment on suspicion of having participated in the lynching, but all the State's witnesses have left for parts unknown.

The incident I have chosen for today was listed as a lynching in the Chicago Daily Tribune dated January 1, 1897. The same paper also listed an unknown negro as being lynched  on the same date as Hollinghead at Sunnyside, Mississippi for murder. I found no details for that lynching which is why I have no article. Thank you for joining me and as always, I hope I leave you with something to ponder.

October 20, 1884: Jane Wade and J. R. Dorsey

Join me into the past, to Cherokee County, Alabama through the pages of The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia) printed October 22, 1884:

TWO COLD BODIES.

DANGLING IN THE AIR FROM AN ALABAMA TREE.

The Alpine Tragedy Results in the Lynching of the Guilty Pair Who Were Suspected of the Murder of Mrs. Davis—The Appearance of the Midnight Riders—Their Mission.

ROME, Ga., October 21.—[Special.]—On the morning of October 8th. THE CONSTITUTION published the account of the terrible murder of Mrs. Mary H. Davis , in Cherokee county, Alabama, near Alpine, Chattooga county, Georgia. Her uncle, J. R. Dorsey and Jane Wade, were arrested for complicity in the crime and lodged in jail at Centre. The sequel to this terrible tragedy occurred last night, when Dorsey and Jane Wade were taken by a mob from Centre jail and lynched. The following details of the affair were received to-day, over the wires of the Coosa River telegraph company:

THE STORY OF THE LYNCHING.

About 11:30 o'clock last night a mob composed of about forty men, three or four of whom were masked, all armed with shotguns, arrived in Centre. It is supposed that they came from Chattooga county, Ga., having crossed the Coosa river at Hardwick's ferry, four miles above Cedar Bluff. The mob proceeded to the jail very quietly, so quietly in fact, that the citizens of Centre were not disturbed in their slumbers, and the mob met with no opposition. The sheriff of Cherokee county was not at home, and his wife, with a young brother of the sheriff, had charge of the jail.

THE JAIL ENTERED.

The mob having aroused the sheriff's wife, presented their guns and told her the sooner Dorsey and Jane Wade were given up the better it would be for her. Three masked men then seized the keys and entered the jail. The other prisoners were terribly frightened, but the men told them to keep quiet; that they wanted no one but Dorsey and Jane Wade. When the cells of Dorsey and the woman were reached, they were taken without difficulty out of the jail, and placed in a buggy. Jane Wade wept bitterly, but neither she nor Dorsey made any efforts at resistance. Three quarters of a mile from the town the cavalcade halted.

DANGLING FROM A LIMB.

The buggy containing the two culprits was driven under a tree, a rope was fastened around the neck of each and fastened to two limbs of the same tree. The buggy was driven from under them and Dorsey and Jane Wade were launched into eternity. Dorsey's neck was broken. The woman died of strangulation. They made no confessions.

Today Centre was unusually quiet. The mob had left no traces of their terrible work save the two dead bodies, and these were taken to the court house.

BEFORE THE CORONER.

A coroner's inquest was held. The verdict was rendered in accordance with the facts above detailed. The bodies were viewed by large numbers of people to-day.

J. R. Dorsey was 74 years of age. Up to the beginning of the late war he was considered one of the most prominent citizens  of Cherokee county. He leaves considerable property.

Jane Wade was 46 years old. She was a woman of bad character. Dorsey took up with her several years ago.

NO CLUE TO THE MOB.

None of the mob have as yet been identified, but one person is suspected of having taken part in the proceedings last night.

Now we will travel a little further back to see what led to this lynching. Our journey brings us to The Atlanta Constitution on October 11, 1884:

THE ALPINE MURDER.

The Alleged Assassins Threatened by an Infuriated Mob.

CHATTANOOGA, October 10.—[Special]—Further details of the terrible murder of Mrs. Mary Davis at Alpine, in Chatooga county, Ga., have just been received. C. C. Jones, a relative of the family was standing on a direct line with Mrs. Davis, when the assassin fired. He received twenty-four slugs in his body and died in a few hours. At the preliminary examination of J. R. Dorsey and Jane Wade, the prostitute who was arrested as an accomplice in the murder, the evidence adduced was very conclusive and the magistrate remanded to jail without bail. The officers were instructed to convey the prisoners to jail, but before they could leave the scene excitement became so intense, that they were rapidly taken to the mountains and concealed to prevent being lynched. The mob numbered fully 300 and was composed of the best citizens in the county. The leader of the mob states they will yet hang the murderer. Dorsey is the postmaster at Alpine, and is one of the leading men of that section.

One more trip a little further back to the same paper dated October 8, 1884:

MRS. MARY DAVIS ASSASSINATED NEAR ALPINE, GEORGIA.

She is a Cousin of Sam Hardwick, Who Was Murdered Near the Same Place Three Months Ago—Her Uncle Arrested for Complicity in the Crime—Crimes Elsewhere.

CHATTAHOOGA, Tenn., October 7.—[Special.] A shocking murder occurred last night near Alpine, Ga., surpassing in horror any crime that has happened in this region in years. Mrs. Mary H. Davis was shot and killed while standing in her own door way. The shot was fired from an ambush. Mrs. Davis fell across the threshold, perforated with slugs. The shot was heard by neighbors, but the lady was in her dying throes before assistance reached her. Officers at once began a careful inquiry. To-day her uncle, J. R. Dorsey, and a prostitute named Jane Wade were arrested for complicity in the deed. About three months ago a cousin of Mrs. Davis, Sam Hardwick, who lives near her was called from his house and assassinated in the same manner. About a week ago Dr. Freeman, a prominent physician in that locality, was arrested for that murder. All the parties are wealthy and are among the leading families in their county. Some deep mystery is attached to both crimes and it is thought that the investigation now on foot will solve it.

According to a different article, Dr. Freeman was a relative of J. R. Dorsey. Thank you for joining me and as always, I hope I leave you with something to ponder. 

October 19, 1911: Jerry Lovelace

Come along with me on a journey through history. Today we visit Manchester, Georgia through the pages of The Washington Times (Washington, D. C.) dated October 19, 1911:

LYNCHING IN GEORGIA.

MANCHESTER,Ga., Oct. 19.—Without firing a shot or exchanging a blow a mob of thirty men quietly lynched Jerry Lovelace, a colored brakeman, charged with having assaulted Yardmaster Kernan. Half a dozen masked men overpowered Marshal Collier and took the jail keys from him. They ledtheir [sic] victim to Ferndale Park, and hanged him to a tree within ten feet of the sidewalk.

The first article gives us the bare bones and also establishes the date. Our next destination is brought to us through the pages of the Warren Times Mirror (Warren, Pennsylvania) printed October 20, 1911:

NEGRO LYNCHED FOR ASSAULTING MAN.

Taken From Jail and Hanged In Heart of Town.

Manchester, Ga., Oct. 20.—Because he knocked down a white man last night. Jerry Lovelace, a negro, was taken from jail at 2 o'clock this morning and lynched. There were about 30 men in the mob and they took the negro to Ferndale park, in the heart of Manchester, and hanged him.

Last night Lovelace was arrested and jailed on a charge of having assaulted Yardmaster W. F. Kernan of the Atlantic & Birmingham railroad. There was much feeling and after midnight a mob formed, captured City Marshal Collier and secured the jail keys and the officer's gun.

Leaving the marshal bound, the mob unlocked the jail, secured the negro and lynched him. After the lynching the mob returned to Marshal Collier, unbound him and returned the jail keys and his gun.

Manchester is a comparatively new place. It has been extensively advertised and was known as the "model town."

We will round out our journey with an interesting article brought to us by The Allentown Democrat (Allentown, Pennsylvania) printed January 2, 1912:

SIXTY LYNCHINGS DURING YEAR 1911

Out of This Number 58 Were Negroes—Georgia Leads With Seventeen.

Chicago, ill., Jan. 1.—The lynching record for 1911 shows a distinct though slight improvement over the records of previous years. The number of persons lynched since January 1—sixty—is slightly less than that of any recent year. All but two of the sixty persons lynched were negroes. Of the fifty-eight negroes, one was a woman. "The crimes charged against those victims range all the way from insult to criminal assault and murder. Georgia leads with the most lynchings—seventeen. Lynchings occurred in thirteen states. All of these were Southern or border states excepting Pennsylvania, which furnished the only instance of this year where the victim was burned at the stake.

Contrary to records of the previous years the majority of the victims were not accused of crimes against women. The victims accused of attacks on women, numbered eighteen, while thirty-one were accused of murder. Two negroes were lynched for insulting white women, four for attempted murder, one for threatening to murder, one for highway robbery, and one for persistent stealing. Two were charged with plain assault and one was being held in jail as a suspicious character.

In several instances race riots were reported in which both whites and blacks were killed. These are not included in the record of the year. In the following record the word "lynching" has been held to apply only to the summary punishment inicted [sic] by a mob or by any number of citizens on a person alleged to have committed a crime for which in the ordinary course that person would have been tried by law.

The detailed record for 1911 is as follows:

Alabama—(Three: all negroes.) Feb. 12—Eufaula, Iver Peterson, attack on woman. Mch. 11—Pike county, Jackson Walker, criminal attack. April 2.—Union Springs, Aberdine Johnson, criminal attack.

Arkansas—(Two negroes: one white.) Sept. 9.—Augusta, A. Dean, murder. Sept. 27.—Dumas, Charles Malpass (white) murder. Oct. 16.—Forest City, Nathan Lacey, criminal attack.

Florida—(Seven:  all negroes.) Mch. 4.—Cyprss, [sic] Calvin Baker, threat to murder. May 21.—Lake City, six unknown neroes [sic], murder.

Georgia—(Seventeen: al [sic] negroes.) Jan. 22.—Avers, William Johnson, murder. Feb. 24.—Warrentown, Robert Jones, Murder. Feb. 24—Lawrenceville, Charles Hale, criminal attack. April 8.—E'aville Dawson Jordan, murder  April 8.—Ellaville, Murray Durton, murder. May 14.—Swainsboro, Ben Smith, murder. May 22.—Crawfordsville, Joe Moore, murder. June 27.—Monroe, Tom Allen, criminal attack. June 27.—Monroe, Joe Watts, under suspicion. July 11.—Baconton, Will McGriff, murder. Oct. 4.—Baldwins Bridge, unknown negro, criminal attack. Oct. 7.—Irwinton, Andrew Chapman, criminal attack. Oct. 19.—Manchester, Jerry Lovelace, assault to murder. Oct. 28.—Washton, Dave Walker, murder.

Kentucky.—(Three: all negroes) Jan. 15.—Shelbyville, Gene Marshall, murder. Jan. 15.—Shelbyville, Wade Patterson, insulting  white woman. Apr. 20.—Livermore, Will Potter, murder.

Louisianna [sic]—(Four:  all negroes.)  Jan. 30.—Ville Platte, Oval Poulard, attempted murder. Jan. 30.—Slidell, Same Cooley, criminal attack. May 28.—Moeling, Frank Jones, criminal attack. July 24.—Claiborne [P]arish, Myles Taylor. murder.

Mississippi—(Six:  all negroes.) Mch. 25.—Rockport, Will Brown, murder. Bay [sic] 5.—Louisville, Cliff Jones, attempted murder. May 5.—Louisville, Bruce White, attempted murder. June 1.—Shelby, Alfred Johnson( burder. [sic] June 16.—Chunky, William Bradford, attempted murder. Nov. 7.—Lockhart, "Judge" Moseley, assault.

Missouri.—(Two negroes) Oct. 10.—Caruthersville, A. B. Richardson, robbery and assault. Oct. 10.—Carruthersville, Ben Woods, robbery and assault.

Oklahoma.—[(]Seven negroes:  one woman.) May 25.—Okema, Mrs. Mary Nelson, (negress), murder. May 25.—Mrs. Nelson's son, murder. Aug. 13.—Durant, unknown negro, criminal attack. Oct. 22.—Coweta, Ed Suddeth, murder Dec. 3.—Manford, "Bud" Walker, highway robbery. Dec. 5.—Valiant, unknown negro, criminal attack.

Pennsylvania—(One gro.) [sic] Aug. 13.—Coatesville, Zach Walker (burned), murder.

South Carolina—(One negro), Oct. 10.—Honea Path, Willis Jack, criminal attack. [(]One other lynching reported but report not confirmed.)      

Tennessee—Three: [(] all negroes.) May 23.—Gallatin, Jim Sweat, murder. June 1.—White Haven, Pat Crump, criminal attack. June 8.—Lafayette, John Winston, murder.

Texts[sic]—(Three negroes and one white.) June 18.—Thorndale, unknown Mexican youth, murder. Aug. 12.—Farmersville, Commodore Jones, insulting white woman. Oct. 29.—Marshall, Will Ollive, criminal attack. Nov. 6.—Clarksville, Riley Johnson, criminal attack.

Thank you for joining me and as always, I hope I leave you with something to ponder.

October 18, 1933: George Armwood

Join me today in a jaunt through history involving a lynching in Maryland and the consequences following. Our first visit to Princess Anne, Maryland comes to us through The Taylor Daily Press (Taylor, Texas) printed on October 19, 1933:

ANGRY MOB LYNCHES NEGRO

PRINCESS ANNE, Md., Oct. 19.(UP)—A mob of nearly 3000 overpowered state police and lynched George Armwood, 28-year-odl [sic] negro, last night. Armwood was charged with attacking Mrs. Mary Denston, 71, white as she returned to her farm home Monday night.

Repulsed by tear gas bombs on its first advance, the mob finally battered down the doors of the Somerset county jail with timbers and seized the negro. A rope was placed around his neck and he was dragged behind an automobile through the streets.

Near the home of Judge Robert Duer, local police jurist, the mob hanged him to a tree, although apparently he was already dead from the effects of the mob's treatment. One of his ears had been nearly severed.

After the hanging the mob cut the body down and took it to the courthouse lawn, where it was burned.

The next leg of our journey is brought to us by The Pittsburg Courier (Pittsburg, Pennsylvania) dated November 4, 1933:

EUEL LEE HANGED

COPS GUARD HIS GRAVE; ORDERED TO SHOOT TO KILL

Maryland Bows to Demand of Armwood Lynchers—Radical Threat to Rob Grave Results In "Shoot to Kill" Order.

BALTIMORE, Md., Nov, 2—"If they had hanged that 'nigger' Euel Lee two years ago, we wouldn't have lynched George Armwood," was the defy which a Princess Anne mob hurled into the teeth of law and order on the Maryland East Coast week before last, so on Thursday midnight Euel Lee paid the price of prejudice on the gallows, when he was hanged at the Maryland penitentiary.

This was the answer of Governor Ritchie and other high and influential public officials to Maryland's "Red Wednesday," which saw the streets of Princess Anne lit by flames as Armwood paid the supreme sacrifice, while State troopers, surrounding the jail, failed to fire a shot.

They failed to fire their guns as Armwood was taken from a ramshackle jail, pulled through the streets of the town, hanged, shot, and his nude, disfigured body left to sway in the breeze, but after they had buried Euel Lee in a shallow grave in Maryland, police troops and special deputies were placed "on guard" over his grave to prevent an alleged Communist movement to rob the grave and take Lee's aged body to New York.

And when the troops were left to guard the jail, they were given explicit instruction to "shoot to kill."

Efforts To Save Life Fail

Several last minute futile attempts were made to save his life.

Before the Federal Court here writs of habeas corpus and a certiorari were presented after Bernard Ades and David Levinson, Internal Labor Defense attorneys representing Lee, had been prohibited from appearing before the court. The bar was raised against Ades for alleged unbecoming conduct. Judge William C. Coleman stated that Levinson had not shown that he had the right to appear before the court.

Judge Alexander issued the following statement at the time of

The writs were presented by Attorney James McHenry Howard, appointed by the court, and were denied.

At Richmond, Va., an appeal for a certificate of probable cause was made before the United States Circuit Court of Appeals and denied by Judges Morris Soper and John J. Parker, whose ambition to sit on the United States Supreme Court bench Negroes were credited with defeating three years ago.

Before these last two moves, the United States Supreme Court had refused to review the Lee case, and Governor Albert C. Ritchie of Maryland had refused to intervene, expressing the conviction that Lee was guilty.

This next article comes from the same paper on the same date:

WAVE OF PROTEST FOLLOWS MD. LEGION STAND

REFUSAL TO AID LAW IN HALTING LYNCH MOB HIT

Princess Anne's Post Action In Refusing to Help Protect George Armwood Scored—Protest Sent to National Commander.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Oct. 26.—National Commander Edward Hayes of the American Legion received the following telegram last Thursday from Dean Charles H. Houston of the Howard University School of Law, and Leon A. Ranson of Zanesville, Ohio, instructor at the law school and active member of the American Legion:

"Negro Legionnaires and veterans demand that National Headquarters publicly discountenance statement of Commander E. G. Young, of L. Creation Beauchamp Post, Princess Anne, Md., quote:  The Legion will come out to protect men, women and children of Maryland, but not a Negro, unquote. Negro Legionnaires who fought for all races deeply resent flagrant insult of Legion Post that sanctions lynching of Negroes but refuses to aid civil authorities when called upon by the Governor."

Legion Posts Informed

Simultaneous with his dispatch to National Commander Edw. Hayes, both Dean Houston and Mr. Ransom sent the following letter to the commanders of colored and mixed posts:

"The George Armwood lynching in Princess Anne, Md., October 18, 1933, was one of the most revolting and atrocious lynchings which has ever stained the history of the United States. It is especially revolting to Legionnaires on account of the attitude of Commander E. G, Young of the L. Creston Beauchamp Post, Princess Anne, Maryland. Newspapers report that Governor Ritchie telephoned to the sheriff of Somerset County, Maryland, to summon the Legionnaires to preserve order.

"When the sheriff contacted Commander Young, the commander is reported to have issued a statement that "The Legion will come out to protect men, women and children of Maryland but not a Negro!"

"The Legion did not come out. Armwood was lynched by a mob of 3,000 in a village with 1,00 population. Authorities who are investigating are having a difficult time overcoming the 'local conspiracy of silence.'

Hindering Investigation

Continued the Houston-Ransom appeal:

"The Legion not only did not protect Armwood, keep the peace and preserve order prior to the lynching, but it is now shielding the guilty parties and hindering the investigation and prosecution.

"Acting on our own responsibility as veterans and Legionnaires, we sent a day letter October 19 (copy of which is herewith enclosed) to National Commander Edw. Hayes.

"We sincerely hope that your respective Posts will take vigorous and persistent action and will not let up until you have obtained complete satisfaction from the American Legion itself castigating the attitude and expressions of Commander Young and the L. Creston Beauchamp Post. We urge you to enlist all of the sympathetic and liberal Posts, both white and colored,in an effort to place The American Legion squarely behind a program of strict law enforcement regardless of race, creed or color."

(Signed) Leon A. Ransom,

Charles H. Houston,

420 Fifth street, N. W.,

Washington, D. C.

The next piece of history we are to examine comes also from The Pittsburg Courier (Pittsburg, Pennsylvania) dated November 25, 1933:

MOB WOULD FREE THEM, CLAIMS MD. ATTORNEY

Weakness of Law's Forces Admitted When State's Attorney Expresses Fear In Armwood Lynch Probe—Attorney General Demands Arrests.

CRISFIELD, Md., Nov. 23—Attorney General William Preston Lane's request that State's Attorney John B. Robins take immediate steps to have nine men arrested for the lynching of George Armwood at Princess Ann, October 18th, is meeting with considerable opposition.

"I don't believe those men would stay in jail," said Robins. "I believe a crowd would form and take them away."

Late last week the attorney general announced that he had forwarded the names of nine persons alleged to have been members of the mob that lynched George Armwood, and asked Robins to have them arrested and taken before the magistrate.

"If Lane wants those men arrested, let him come down here and arrest them," the Somerset County state's attorney said.

Fears Publicity

"He wants to have the nine men arrested and taken before a magistrate. If we did that there would be lots of publicity and excitement.

This next stop is a short article found in The Daily Mail (Hagerstown, Maryland) on the 29th of November, 1933:

NOT TO BE DISTURBED.

PRINCESS ANNE, Md., Nov. 20 (AP).—Steve Hopkins, superintendent of the Somerset county alms house, said today that the grave of George Armwood, lynched negro, believed to have been tampered with last night, will not be re-examined for the present.

Our journey continues on the pages of The News (Frederick, Maryland) on November 28, 1933:

TROOPS EVACUATED SALISBURY AFTER 4 MEN ARE HELD IN ARMWOOD LYNCHING

Soldiers Withdrawn After Fighting Occurs At The State Armory

Bricks Hurled At Salisbury Building—Crowds Pour Into City.

MEN TAKEN FROM BEDS

"Lynch Lane" "Lynch Ritchie", Among Yells Heard.

Salisbury, Md., Nov. 28 (AP).—Troops sent by Governor Albert C. Ritchie to arrest nine suspects of the Princess Anne lynching today evacuated the armory here and started back to Baltimore after a mob of more than 1,000 persons stormed the building and were repulsed with tear gas, bombs and bayonets.

They took with them four men they arrested in early morning forays into nearby Somerset county where the lynching occurred October 18.

The troops had been ordered to Salisbury when State's Attorney John B. Robins, of Somerset county, declined to arrest men said by eyewitnesses to have been members of the mob that lynched George Armwood, negro.

Three hundred of the soldiers were mobilized in Baltimore last night and arrived in Salisbury shortly before dawn. The arrests followed in short order, although five of those sought could not be found.

As the busses [sic] bearing the militia pulled away there was no attempt on the part of the crowd to molest them.

Some of the crowd, however, lifted an official car bodily and turned it over. A negro chauffeur at the wheel scrambled and ran. The car was said to belong to William Preston Lane, Jr., State Attorney General, who had been inside the armory.

The Salisbury-Wicomico Chamber of Commerce was called hurriedly into a meeting at noon. It was reported the purpose of the summons was to protest against sending troops here.

Before the troops left, fire department equipment from neighboring towns had arrived and took up a position at the department headquarters opposite the armory. The crowd appeared to take this as a kindly gesture and they cheered each on arrival.

Salisbury, Md., Nov. 28 (AP).—Tear gas bombs were hurled by state militia today when a crowd of 400 men apparently incensed at the arrest of four members of the Princess Anne lynch mob, advanced on the state armory here.

The crowd gave was temporarily, but it again advanced and the soldiers, who arrived last night from Baltimore, were driven back into the armory.

A general fire alarm was sounded and firemen came to the rescue of the 300 members of the militia, ordered by Governor Albert C. Ritchie, to arrest nine men said to have been members of the mob that lynched George Armwood, negro, on the night of October 18.

The screaming crowd appeared to be unmindful of the tear gas, coming closer all the while. A few minutes later another barrage of tear gas was loosed.

RECKORD ADDRESSES CROWD

Brigadier General Milton A Reckord, adjutant general of Maryland, stepped out in the street and said:

"Step back. We don't want to hurt anybody."

Whereupon there was a yell from the crowd"

"What right have you to come down here and run our county?" one man shouted.

Another yell came out:

"Oh, Reckord's all right. He's a regular fellow. He's just obeying orders."

The crowd, which gathered early today after the news spread that the militia had come and was arresting the alleged lynchers, was augmented by long motor caravans converging on Salisbury from many points on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Delaware and Virginia.

The Associated Press correspondent, sending messages on the printer wire, said he could see much of the action from where he was sitting.

In Annapolis, David C. Winebrenner 3rd. Secretary of State, was informed of the developments in Salisbury and said he would leave at once to take the news to Governor Ritchie, who is ill.

SHOTS FIRED

A rain of bricks was hurled at the armory by the crowd outside and this was followed by shots, although it was not immediately apparent who had fired them, the soldiers or the mob attacking.

The firemen continued to send streams of water into the tear gas, apparently in an effort to deaden the effects of the fumes. They appeared to be in sympathy with the crowd. This brought cheers from the crowd.

General Reckord appeared on the outside of the armory and ordered all persons standing on porches of private houses in the vicinity of the armory to evacuate.

The troopers were standing about the armory in a cordon with fixed bayonets. The crowd jeered them continuously.

Yells from the crowd could be heard:  "Lynch Lane!" and "Lynch Ritchie!"

Lane Inside Armory.

Attorney General Lane was inside the armory.

A picked battalion of Maryland National Guardsmen, acting under orders of Governor Ritchie, today conducted a systematic roundup of suspects of last month's lynching at Princess Anne.

Moving from Baltimore last night . . .

The governor's orders followed the refusal of the state's attorney of Somerset county, John B. Robins, to arrest nine men on information secured by State's Attorney General William Preston Lane, Jr. Robins contended the proper procedure was to take the case before the grand jury.

Those arrested today were:

William H. Thomson, 33, a Princess Anne druggist who had been a member of the coroner's jury investigating the lynching.

Irving Adkins, 30, or Princess Anne, a special officer at Princess Anne on Saturday nights.

William P. Hearn, 25, of Shad Point, a trucker.

William F. McQuay, 26, of Pocomoke City, a chain store clerk.

All the prisoners were taken from their beds and brought to the Salisbury armory. Clusters of people began to gather near the armory and criticism of Ritchie and Lane could be heard.

In order to guard against possible violence or any attempt to liberate the men. National Guard officers had equipped the troops with ammunition, machine guns, riot guns, gas grenades and automatic rifles.

  I left out two paragraphs because they repeated what had been established earlier in the article. An interesting fact is that the Scottsboro trials were being held at the same time.  Thank you for joining me and as always, I hope I leave you with something to ponder.